Pokemon Go causes car crashes

Update – July 27, 2016: Australian road authorities have issued a warning to motorists who drive and play Pokemon Go simultaneously. Like any use of a mobile device while driving, the practice is illegal.

And now Vicroads, the Victorian road authority, has taken to displaying signs on major arterials specifically warning motorists against playing the game, which has led to countless car accidents and is clearly becoming a worsening issue.

"We know how popular it is and it could be very tempting," Vicroads director of road use policy, Robyn Seymour, told radio station 3AW.

"We don't want to be putting drivers and other people at risk on the road."

Barely a week after its Australian launch, the first motor vehicle related incident related to the Pokemon Go smartphone game has been reported in Queensland.

Panel beater Darren Holmes told the

The hugely popular smartphone game has already had tens of millions of downloads globally and could soon overtake Twitter as Australia's most popular daily app.

But since its launch it's been mired in controversy and linked to increased incidences of trespassing and now dangerous driving.

The game tasks players to search real locations – including parks, shopping malls, museums, and roads it would seem – to find the fictional pocket monsters, or Pokemon for short.

"There were cars pulled over everywhere obviously chasing Pokemon," Darren Holmes told the ABC.

"Everybody was on their phones and we were all talking about it through the week, saying that we'd catch somebody ... and we've got one already. It's only minor [damage] so it's not a major accident but it's still enough that it needs to be an insurance claim," he said.

The Australian car incident follows a police report of a 28-year-old male driver in Auburn, New York, who crashed his car into a tree, admitting to police the cause of the single-car collision was due to his playing Pokemon Go while driving.

The game requires users to travel far and wide to find and attempt to capture Pokemon creatures and it's generally assumed most people would do so on foot. But clearly drivers are engaging in the augmented reality game while operating a vehicle.

Even people playing the game on foot have run into trouble, with two users of the smartphone app reportedly walking off cliffs.

A man has even shown that the fictional monsters exist on the legendary Nurburgring road course in Germany, catching a BMW M3 taxi in a bid to capture monsters while driving around the track.

The game uses GPS maps – which clearly include road courses such as the Nurburgring – and automatically populates areas with Pokemon. Based on the recent car accidents it's clear some of the cherished Pokemon are appearing on roads.

The popularity and addictiveness of the game is raising eyebrows, particularly as it compels players to engage the game in places they shouldn’t – such as on the road and even at places of worship – and even trespass in areas they shouldn’t, including schools.

It's becoming a headache for law enforcement authorities right across the globe, with the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services issuing a plea last week for Pokemon Go users to not enter Darwin police station.

"Whilst the Darwin Police Station may feature as a Pokestop, please be advised that you don't actually have to step inside in order to gain the pokeballs," read the Northern Territory Police's Facebook post.

"It's also a good idea to look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing the street. That Sandshrew isn't going anywhere fast. Stay safe and catch 'em all!"

The Auburn police department in the USA meanwhile issued a statement with far less levity, warning Pokemon Go players against the dangers of operating a vehicle while actively engaged in searching for monsters.

Top photo: Auburn, N.Y. Police Department